Vice-President Dick Cheney, having briefly assumed President Bush'sduties while the President underwent a routine colon procedure onSaturday, told reporters today that he "enjoyed the downtimeimmensely."

The two hours and fifteen minutes spent doing Bush's job were"incredibly relaxing," Mr. Cheney said, adding that they were awelcome relief from his exacting Vice-Presidential schedule.

Invoking the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution Saturdaymorning, Mr. Bush transferred to Mr. Cheney all of his presidentialresponsibilities, which meant that Mr. Cheney spent Saturday jogging,going to the gym, and hitting a ball for Mr. Bush's dog to retrieve.

In addition, Mr. Cheney called the nations of East Timor andLuxembourg "evil," stumbling briefly over the pronunciation ofLuxembourg.

Finally, as Mr. Bush's colon procedure was winding down, Mr. Cheneymade some remarks about the Japanese economy, mistakenly using theword "devaluation" instead of "deflation," sending the NIKKEI stockmarket into a tailspin.

All in all, Mr. Cheney said he emerged from his brief tenure asPresident rested and refreshed, ready to plunge back into hisdemanding Vice-Presidential workload.

As for the President, Mr. Bush's doctors pronounced his procedure asuccess, but said that they were having difficulty determining whetheror not the President's anesthesia had fully worn off.

Mr. Bush's doctors indicated that when they asked the President thestandard post-operative questions – such as, "What is the capital ofthe United States?" – Mr. Bush got only two out of five correct.

"Before the operation, he got three out of five right," one doctor said.

Elsewhere, a Mexican candy has been recalled after containing tracesof lead, in a sign of Mexico's ongoing effort to compete with China'scandy industry.

"If you have a fixed mindset, you believe that your talents andabilities are set in stone–either you have them or you don't. You mustprove yourself over and over, trying to look smart and talented at allcosts. This is the path of stagnation. If you have a growth mindset,however, you know that talents can be developed and that greatabilities are built over time. This is the path of opportunity–andsuccess."~Greg Barrette

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Word of the Day: Misocapnist (noun)

Pronunciation: [mi-sah-'kæp-nist ]

Definition: A smoke-hater.

Usage: The word has only rarely been used in the past but perhaps itstime has come. The extreme opposite of "smoker," who is presumably asmoke-lover, is not captured in "non-smoker." A non-smoker merelyeschews smoking; a misocapnist is someone who despises and fights it.The hatred itself of smoke is "misocapny."

Suggested Usage: At last, smokers, a name for your adversary, "All themanagerial misocapnists have decided to make the building smoke-free."But the implication is broader than merely tobacco smoke, "Mymisocapnist neighbor calls the police every time I try to burn leavesin my yard."

Knowledge is power.Time is money.Since power = work / timewe substitute to obtainknowledge = work / moneyand now, solving for money, we obtainmoney = work / knowledgeso the limit of money as knowledge grows without bound is zeroor The more you know the less you make.